IAPCO is administered by a Council consisting of at least eight and up to eleven Company Members, among them a President, President-elect and a Treasurer. Eight members of the Council are elected by the members at the General Assembly. The elected members can co-opt up to three other members for a period of one year. Council may also invite members of the Association to report on various administrative topics and as such to participate in specific elements of Council meetings.
The work of the Council is to administer the Association, to ensure that the quality standards as set are maintained, to serve the members and to guide IAPCO as the leading authority on professional congress organisation worldwide. Furthermore the Council is responsible for ensuring that IAPCO fulfils its responsibilities in accordance with the Statutes in a professional manner and in accordance with the laws of the land, and operates in a businesslike and financially viable manner.